Love in the Time of Monsters: the pinnacle of all human achievement
Love in the Time of Monsters is absolutely incredible. In fact, it may go down in cinema history as one of the best films ever created. Now that I think about it, it could become recognized as one of the hallmarks of all human achievement. But, I could be biased.
"Two sisters travel to a cheesy tourist trap where they battle toxic monsters dressed in bigfoot costumes in order to save the ones they love."
But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me backpedal and explain where the journey of this movie began for me personally. Imagine a 20 something guy in 2004, somewhere in North Hollywood, CA, wandering into Odyssey Video and discovering a giant collection of incredible 70's and 80's horror movies on VHS. I was only there for the 99 cent Tuesday rentals, as suggested to me by one of my roommates, Andy Gunn.
We spent many late night hours laughing, gawking, wincing, and discussing some of the most bizarre and obscure 80's horror movies ever made in the confines of our Studio City apartment. Classics such as The Incredible Melting Man (1977), Return of the Living Dead 2 (1988), Popcorn (1991) and even the now infamous Troll 2 (1990) before it was cool. We also indulged in more modern horror classics such as Cabin Fever (2002), and House of the Dead (2003).
The worse the acting, the better. The more questionable the directing choices, the better. And the special effects? Oh, there was much laughter. It was inspiring on a level I can't even explain. It almost made it seem as if any effort in cinema was worthwhile, and any dream was worth pursuing. Even the most bizarre cinematic outcome justified all the writing, acting, editing, and directing effort that went into it. It was like an entire genre of Ed Wood movies for modern times.
Eventually, my life path brought me to Tennessee, but Andy and friends remained in California. Over the years, Andy was involved in various creative film projects. Then, in around 2013, he began work producing a project that harkens back to the joy and decadence of those 80's horror films. Love in the Time of Monsters must be an homage to these films (with better acting and better directing choices.) Something about this movie revels in the sheer glee of buckets of fake blood, scenes in the woods, hot girls, and young actors that will inevitably get picked off by the monsters / zombies / demons / one by one. It has a tongue-in-cheek attitude, such as the opening scene in which a family gets somewhat murdered by a statue. And, the casting of 80's legend Kane Hodder (who played Jason in many Friday 13th movies) and sci-fi hero Doug Jones (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth, Falling Skies, etc.) suggest this fun. The beauty of Love in the Time of Monsters is that it only asks that you have fun watching it. Any imperfections it has, deliberately or accidentally, are meant to be enjoyed.
Whatever others may say about this movie, positive or otherwise, I know what it will always mean to me. It will mean late nights laughing at crazy VHS movies, inspiration, imagination, 80's horror decadence, a desire to write, act, perform, create, and as David Byrne says in True Stories, a celebration of special-ness.
Official Site of Love in the Time of Monsters
It is also available for rental or purchase on iTunes.
The DVD is available through Best Buy.
"Two sisters travel to a cheesy tourist trap where they battle toxic monsters dressed in bigfoot costumes in order to save the ones they love."
But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me backpedal and explain where the journey of this movie began for me personally. Imagine a 20 something guy in 2004, somewhere in North Hollywood, CA, wandering into Odyssey Video and discovering a giant collection of incredible 70's and 80's horror movies on VHS. I was only there for the 99 cent Tuesday rentals, as suggested to me by one of my roommates, Andy Gunn.
We spent many late night hours laughing, gawking, wincing, and discussing some of the most bizarre and obscure 80's horror movies ever made in the confines of our Studio City apartment. Classics such as The Incredible Melting Man (1977), Return of the Living Dead 2 (1988), Popcorn (1991) and even the now infamous Troll 2 (1990) before it was cool. We also indulged in more modern horror classics such as Cabin Fever (2002), and House of the Dead (2003).
The worse the acting, the better. The more questionable the directing choices, the better. And the special effects? Oh, there was much laughter. It was inspiring on a level I can't even explain. It almost made it seem as if any effort in cinema was worthwhile, and any dream was worth pursuing. Even the most bizarre cinematic outcome justified all the writing, acting, editing, and directing effort that went into it. It was like an entire genre of Ed Wood movies for modern times.
Eventually, my life path brought me to Tennessee, but Andy and friends remained in California. Over the years, Andy was involved in various creative film projects. Then, in around 2013, he began work producing a project that harkens back to the joy and decadence of those 80's horror films. Love in the Time of Monsters must be an homage to these films (with better acting and better directing choices.) Something about this movie revels in the sheer glee of buckets of fake blood, scenes in the woods, hot girls, and young actors that will inevitably get picked off by the monsters / zombies / demons / one by one. It has a tongue-in-cheek attitude, such as the opening scene in which a family gets somewhat murdered by a statue. And, the casting of 80's legend Kane Hodder (who played Jason in many Friday 13th movies) and sci-fi hero Doug Jones (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth, Falling Skies, etc.) suggest this fun. The beauty of Love in the Time of Monsters is that it only asks that you have fun watching it. Any imperfections it has, deliberately or accidentally, are meant to be enjoyed.
Whatever others may say about this movie, positive or otherwise, I know what it will always mean to me. It will mean late nights laughing at crazy VHS movies, inspiration, imagination, 80's horror decadence, a desire to write, act, perform, create, and as David Byrne says in True Stories, a celebration of special-ness.
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| Andy Gunn at a Q&A for Love in the Time of Monsters |
It is also available for rental or purchase on iTunes.
The DVD is available through Best Buy.
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